FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hey,
so I got my 25 new VFT seeds and just planted them on april 12th. I have been putting them in as much sunlight as possible but also use have a flourescent light bulb that I use at my desk where the seeds are located for light. Is this bulb doing anything for the seeds are far as getting them light. I think it is a 14w bulb, 120v or something. I hope that it does help them grow a little, but can anybody tell me for sure??

I think Steve D. has the best tips about getting seedlings going. You could find his posts on this forum and they would help out a lot.

Thanks for providing the link, Matt.

thanks for the info, and I had read that article before (which is quite helpfull on getting things started) but I guess my question is like, is the bulb doing anything? Regardless of whether its needed or not.

To know the answer to this question you'll have to know how well your bulb imitates sunlight.
In artificial lighting, it's expressed in "color temperature"

If your light bulb has a color temp. of more than 6000K (Kelvin), it will actively help the plant photosynthesize.
Most edison based light bulbs however have a color temp. of about 2700K, which will not do much for your plants.

But hey, photons are photons and i think the 2700K light bulbs will do something but it's not going to be much...

I've had good success with the 40W grow CFLs they sell at nurseries and gardening stores.

NZL wrote:But hey, photons are photons and i think the 2700K light bulbs will do something but it's not going to be much...

You have a great sense of humor, Niels. Helps take the edge off your cold, technical side.
(just kidding) Steve

hey thanks a lot, and ya getting into some technical stuff here wooooo. you should see the wikipedia article on color temperature, its some serious science. I found one web site http://www.3drender.com/glossary/colortemp.htm that says that flourescent bulbs are 3200-7500K, and I guess that all depends on the wattage.

o I found it, 3500K so, doesnt do to much. n the 40 watt gives out 5000K